Accelerator-control mechanism



R C. DICKERSON.

ACCELERATOR CONTROL MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT 19, 192'].

1,4L36fll54, Patented Nov. 21, 1922.

i'tozc 14 Patented Nov. 21, 1922.

STATES ACCELERATOR-CONTROL MECHANISM.

Application filed September 19, 1921.

To all whmm. it mag 0011mm:

Be it known that I, RALEIGH C. DIOKER- SON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State ofWashington, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inAccelerator- Control Mechanism, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in foot accelerator controlmechanism for installation in connection with foot throttle devices ofthe type commonly used on motor vehicles, and the object of my inventionis to provide foot accelerator control that may be quickly and easilyattached to foot accelerator devices of standard construction withoutalteration of the standard parts and that will automatically hold theaccelerator pedal in an depressed position in which it is place therebyrelieving the driver of the necessity of holding the leg and foot undercontact tension when using the foot accelerator pedal in driving.

Another object is to provide accelerator control mechanism that willhold the accelerator pedal in a depressed position but that is arrangedso that it may quickly and easily be moved to release the acceleratorpedal by a slight sidewise movement of the foot with which theaccelerator pedal is operated.

ator control mechanism that is constructed and arranged so that when thefoot brake pedal is depressed to apply the foot brake the acceleratorcontrol mechanism will be automatically moved to release thefootaccelerator pedal if the same is in engagement with the controlmechanism thereby making it impossible to set the brake without shuttingoff the supply of fuel to the engine.

Further objects are to provide foot acceler ator control mechanism ofthis nature that is strong and simple in construction, reliable inoperation, not expensive to manufacture,

and easy to install in connection with foot accelerator devicesof anordinary type of construction.

Other and more specific objects will be apparent from the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In driving motor vehicles when the foot accelerator is used the leg andfoot of the driver are necessarily under constant tension or strainduring the time the foot accelerator pedal is held down thus often tir-Serial No. 501,793.

I g the leg and foot severely. The present invention is deslgned toprevent this inconvemence and fatlgue by providing a. device that willautomatically hold the foot accelerator pedal in any position into whichit is depressed thereby permitting the driver to depress the footaccelerator pedal until the desired speed is attained by the vehicle andthen relax the muscles of the leg and foot or even remove the foot fromthe accelerator pedal while the Same is held in the depressed posit onby the control mechanism.

It 1s always desirable to have the fuel supply to the engine shut off atthe time the 70 brake of the vehicle is applied and for this reason theaccelerator control mechanism is provided with means that are arrangedto be engaged by the foot brake pedal for releasing the foot acceleratorpedal in case'the same is being held in a depressed position when thefoot brake is applied, said means preferably being arranged so that itwill not be operated by applying the foot brake easily as might be doneto merely check the 89 speed of the vehicle but will be operated whenthebrake is set fomibly as in stopping the vehicle in case of emergencythus making it impossible for a driver in confusion to apply the brakeforcibly In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 1s a fragmentarysectional view of the foot board of a. motor vehicle showing inelevawithout shutting off the supply of fuel to the engine. A furtherobject is to provide foot accelertion a foot accelerator and brake pedalhav- 90 ing my invention installed in connection therewith;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same as seen from the lower side;

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are views partly in section and partly in elevationsubstantially on broken line 3, 8, of Fig. 1, showing certain operatingparts in three different positions;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view partly in section and partly in elevationshowing a brake we pedal in a depressed position and in engagement withthe device for automatically releasing the foot accelerator controlmecha-- msm;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the mechanism as it appears on the bottom sideof the foot board the positions of the several parts differing from thatshown in Fig. 2 and parts of the foot accelerator mechanism beingomitted; and

Figs. 8 and 9 are detached views in perspective of details of myinvention.

Like reference numerals designates like parts throughout the severalviews.

In the drawings the numeral 10 designates the foot board of a motorvehicle and 11 designates a foot accelerator pedal on the upper end of ashank 12 that passes through a suitable hole in the foot board and isconnected at its lower end with an arm 13 that projects sidewise atsubstantially right angles to the shank 12 and has its outer end bentdownwardly as at 14 and connected by a pivot 15 with an operating rod 16that may be connected with a throttle valve on the carburetor of anengine, not shown, in such a manner as to control the supply of fuel tothe engine. The arm 13 has an integral or otherwise rigidly connectedsupporting arm 17 that is pivotally connected with a fixed bracket 18 onthe foot board 10 so that when the foot pedal 11 and shank 12 aredepressed the arm 13 will swing about the pivot in the bracket 18 andthe rod 16 will be moved to open the throttle valve and permit more fuelto be supplied to the en- All of the parts hereinbefore described are ofwell known standard form of construction, this invention comprisingcertain devicesthat are arranged to be attached to the previouslydescribed parts. A

In accordance with my invention I provide at the side of the footaccelerator shank 12 and substantially arallel therewith a bar 20preferably of at metal having its upper end twisted into a plane atright angles to the plane of the main portion of the bar to form a footpiece 21 and having on its edge adjacent the shank 12 notches 22 likesaw teeth that are arranged to engage with a detent member 23 that issecured to the bottom side of the foot board 10, the bar 20 projectingupwardly through a slot or opening 24 in the foot board 10 in such aposition that the foot piece 21 will be beside the foot pedal 11 inclose proximity thereto so that as the foot of the driver, indicated bydotted lines 25 in Figs. 4 and 5, rests on the accelerator pedal 11 theedge of the foot will be against or very near to the foot piece 21whereby a slight sidewise movement of the foot will move the bar 20 froma position in which it engages the detent member 23 as shown in Fig. 4,into a position in which it is clear of the detent member as shown inFig. 5.

At the lower end the bar 20 is bent at right angles to form a portion 26that projects sidewise, thence it is again bent at right angles to form,a portion 27 that projects rearwardly and downwardl in substantiallyparallel relation to the oot board 10 and thence it is again bentdownwardly at right angles to form a terminal portion 28 that isconnected at the outer end by the ,With the downwardly bent end 14 ofthe throttle rod 16 and the foot accelerator rod 13. A tension spring 30is connected with the portion 27 of the foot accelerator control memberto yieldingly urge the notched portion of the bar 20 into engagementwith the detent member 23.

The end of the terminal portion 28 that is connected with the pivot pin15 is preferably rounded as at 31, on both sides to better adapt it forthe slight rocking or sidewise motion that is imparted to theaccelerator control member which is made up of the foot piece 2 l,'bar20 and portions 26, 27 and 28.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that when the acceleratorcontrol member is connected with the pivot pin 15 as described suchcontrol member will move simultaneously with the foot accelerator partsat all times, the bar 20 and foot piece 21 moving up and down with theaccelerator pedal 11 and shank 12 so that if the pedal 11 is depressedthe bar 20 will be depressed also and by reason of the engagement of thedetent member 23 within the notches 22 will hold the accelerator partsin any depressed position in which they are placed. If the foot 25 thatrests on the accelerator pedal is pressed against the foot piece 21 thebar 20 will be tilted or moved against the tension of the spring 30 intothe inclined position shown in Fig. 5, thus disengaging it from thedetent member 23 and permitting the ,foot accelerator parts to be movedby the usual springs, not shown, back into the position that they occupyin Figs. 1 and 3.

As a safety device to prevent a driver, in confusion, from setting thefoot brake forcibly while the foot accelerator parts are in an openposition and are being so held by the accelerator control mechanism Iprovide pivot pin 15 with an automatic release member having a straightflat, medial portion 32 that is pivotally secured to the foot board 10as by a screw 33, and is provided on the end adjacent the bar 20 with anintegral end member 34 that is arranged to engage with the notched edgeof the bar 20 and move the same away from the detent member and that isprovided on the other end with a downwardly bent curved member 35 thatis arranged to be engaged by foot brake lever 36 of the usual form ofconstruction when such brake lever is depressed, see Fig. 6, to applythe brakes, the engagement of the curved end'35 by the foot brake lever36 serving to oscillate the automatic release member on the pivot 33 andby pressing the end 34 against the bar 20 to move such bar out ofengagement with the detent member 23 thereby releasing the footaccelerator pedal.

The curved end portion 35 is preferably located so that it W111 not beengaged by the brake lever when the brakes are only set lightly but willbe engaged and operated by forcible application of the brakes.

The automatic release member has a tension spring 37 connected therewithfor normally holding the same in a retracted position.

In operation if the foot is placed on the accelerator pedal 11 in theposition shown in Fig. 4 and the pedal is depressed. the bar 20 willmove downwardly therewith, the notched portion 22 riding over the detentmember 23 and holding the accelerator mechanism in an position intowhich it is moved by depression of the pedal 11. If it is desired torelease the accelerator mechanism to permit the supply of fuel to theengine to be decreased or shut off the foot is pressed against the footpiece 21, as shown in Fig. 5, thus disengaging the bar 20 from thedetent member so that the accelerator pedal may move upwardly. If thefoot is held against the foot piece as shown in Fig. 5, the acceleratorpedal may be moved to open and close the throttle valve to the engineand will operate in the same manner that it would operate if theaccelerator control mechanism were not connected therewith.

The accelerator control mechanism thus serves to relieve the driver ofthe necessity of holding the accelerator pedal in a fixed position bytension in the foot and leg thereby greatly relieving the strain on thedriver especially when he is driving under conditions that make itdesirable for him to maintain a constant speed for a considerable periodof time.

This apparatus is chea and simple in construction, reliable and e cientin operation, not liable to get out of order and easy to install onmotor vehicles without alterations of the standard parts of suchvehicles.

The foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings clearly disclose the principles of construction and method ofoperation of my device, but, while I have shown and described what I nowconsider to the. preferred embodiment of my invention it will beunderstood that the disclosure is merely illustrative and that suchchanges in the forms, dimensions and arrangement of parts of my devicemay be made as are within the scope and spirit of my invention.

What I claim is: 1. The combination with the usual foot acceleratormechanism of a motor vehicle including a movable foot pedal, of controlmeans arranged to be connected with said accelerator mechanism to holdthe same in any set position and a foot piece on said control means andlocated at the side of said accelerator foot pedal whereby sidewisemovement of the foot as it rests on said accelerator foot pedal willmove said foot piece and piece on the upper end of said bar and arrangedto be engaged by the foot as it rests on said foot pedal.

3. The combination with the foot accelerator mechanism of a motorvehicle, of control means for holding said foot accelerator mechanism inany set position and devices operated automatically by the applicationof the vehicle brake for releasing said control means.

4. The combination with the foot accelerator mechanism of a motorvehicle of control means for holding said foot accelerator mechanism inany set position and devices arranged to be automatically actuated bydepression of the foot brake pedal of the vehicle for moving saidcontrol means to release said accelerator mechanism.

5. The combination with the foot accelerator mechanism of a motorvehicle, of control means for holding said foot accelerator mechanism inany set position, a bracket member pivoted to the lowermost side of thevehicle foot board and arranged to be moved by depression of the footbrake pedal of the vehicle, and an arm on said bracket member forengaging with and moving said control means to release said footaccelerator mechanism when said bracket member is moved.

In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 12th day ofSeptember A. D.

RALEIGH C. DICKERSON.

